This is a project where 30 people got together to act as the GMs of the 30 MLB teams with the idea of conducting the offseason in one week. This is what happened in this simulation, not a prediction of what will happen in real life.
By Dan Kolton
This was my third year participating in the Mets360 Mock GM project, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did the past two years. From turning the Mets into a powerhouse franchise the first year, and not really having a plan the second year with the Nationals, being the General Manager of the Padres was a completely unique experience. Although I had a plan on how I wanted to build the organization, things did not go exactly as I planned, but I am still pleased with the final outcome of the Padres in this project.
THE PLAN
Outfield Speed: Petco Park is notorious for being one of the most pitcher friendly ballparks in the MLB. With the walls so far back, I wanted to acquire speedy outfielders who could cover all of the outfield grass to avoid the opponent teams from hitting a large amount of doubles/triples. From the very beginning, I wanted to acquire Billy Hamilton, and was lucky enough to do so with my first trade. However, it meant that I had to take on the contract of Homer Bailey, but more on that later. Angel Pagan and Rajai Davis were two free agent signings that I made in order to add more speed in the outfield, and Travis Jankowski stole 30 bags last year and was already a part of my organization.
Building the Bullpen: With Hamilton now on my team, I had acquired 1/3 of the players on my “must have” list. Next was a trade for the Yankees’ Dillon Betances. This trade also hurt a little, being that I had to give up Tyson Ross and Manuel Margot, but for a talent like Betances, how could I resist?! And finally on my list was Aroldis Chapman. One of the top free agents in the project, I really had to dip into my wallet to acquire the best closer in the game. However, I had money to spend and was able to give Chapman a $25 million deal. With a bullpen that looks like the following, I could not be more pleased with the outcome.
LHP Hand
RHP Espinoza
RHP Smith
LHP Niese
LHP Buchter
7th inning Capps
SU Betances
CP Chapman
THE STRUGGLES
Homer Bailey: Bailey was pushed on me by the Reds GM as a player I had to take in order to receive Hamilton and Brandon Finnegan. With money to spend and the hopes of throwing him into a deal to another team, I took on Bailey and his $19 million contract. I then tried to add Bailey to every trade conversation I was a part of, but nobody would take him off my hands. A large contract for a pitcher who has been plagued by injury in recent years, let’s hope Bailey has a renaissance at Petco Park.
The Original Roster: When I gave up the Nationals to take on a random organization, I had no intentions on being the GM for the Padres. However, when I received the email telling me my team and salary, I looked up the Padres’ roster and cried myself to sleep. Maybe if I had the Padres roster entering 2016, I would have been a little happier, but this roster was full of useless players that I knew would be hard to trade away. Therefore, I had to give up a ton of prospects in order to make trades (but that being said, this project was solely about the team’s 25 man roster…so at the end of the day it is not a huge deal).
Midterms: Yes, I am a college student. Yes, this project did happen to take place on a week in I had my first two midterms in the middle of the week. Therefore, my head was not completely in this project at all times, which definitely led to me making some questionable moves and not negotiating to the extent I wish I had. So please, keep this in mind when you rip me apart in the comments section…
The new look of the Padres is not ideal, but I am happy with it. I would probably give myself a B+, because I believe that I successfully improved the two most important aspects of a team that plays 81 games at Petco Park. Also, I believe I get a boost for the new logo brings back the mustard yellow and brown coloring and incorporates the Swinging Friar!
| Pos | Name | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| SP | Hellickson | $15,000,000 |
| SP | Finnegan | $436,350 |
| SP | Bailey | $18,000,000 |
| SP | Cosart | $550,000 |
| SP | Jenkins | $507,000 |
| LHP | Hand | $540,000 |
| RHP | Espinoza | $507,500 |
| RHP | Smith | $3,000,000 |
| LHP | Niese | $2,000,000 |
| LHP | Buchter | $520,000 |
| 7th inning | Capps | $987,500 |
| SU | Betances | $507,500 |
| CP | Chapman | $25,000,000 |
| C | Norris | $2,925,000 |
| 1B | Myers | $523,900 |
| 2B | Walker | $11,000,000 |
| 3B | Wallace | $1,000,000 |
| SS | Amarista | $2,500,000 |
| LF | Pagan | $11,000,000 |
| CF | Hamilton | $570,000 |
| RF | Jankowski | $508,800 |
| C | Bethancourt | $511,200 |
| INF | Tejada | $2,000,000 |
| OF | Smith | $507,500 |
| OF | Davis | $7,500,000 |
Can’t say I’m in love with what you did, but it is better than some I’ve seen. Like the bullpen, but the infield is weak. Myers is one of the best there is, but Walker is a bit questionable for $11 million with his back issues if you ask me. Where is Solarte? I would have kept him over Wallace.
B- from me because although you improved, there are still some holes within your roster.
Also, where is this new logo???
Hey Dan! First off, great name! Secondly, like I said, my head was not all in during the duration of the project, and I certainly made some questionable moves. My goal was to actually obtain a better 3B than Wallace and Solarte, and Solarte was the first to go. Unfortunately I never got to trade Wallace, and my infield ended up looking worse than I had hoped.
As for the logo: not sure! I sent it in to be published with this article, but being that I do not personally publish my work, there could have been formatting issues with getting it attached to the article!
Wow. Kinda stunning that your roster does not include Solarte and Schimpf.
Agreed…
I hoped to make enough improvements that they would not be needed, but the best laid plans of mice and men…
The roster looks like it’s a team rebuilding but you traded away a lot of your top prospects. Those two strategies don’t gel. You paid a steep price for Tyrell Jenkins and Mallex Smith and I was hoping for an explanation of why you made that deal.
Can you shed some light?
Both Jenkins and Smith have a lot of potential in my opinion, and are Major League ready(ish). Since the focus of this project was on the 25 man rosters, I figured I would not kill myself trying to obtain young major league talent while also keeping prospects that would not be seen by people reading this article. A bit unorthodox, but when you get the San Diego Padres, sometimes you need to make questionable moves to give yourself a somewhat satisfying outcome!
I like the Walker pickup, especially at that salary. I’m okay with either Betances or Chapman but both seem like overkill.
Three years ago this time, I was excited for what Billy Hamilton could be. But 1,500 PA later that excitement is gone.
I agree on the Hamilton front. But, he is still young and can still turn it around. He also costs nothing so if he needs to be benched or sent back down, it’s not like the team is taking a huge hit.
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Hamilton had a solid second half and his problems really come from batting lefty, as he is a natural righty.
As I have advocated for Hamilton many times on the Mets, I obviously loved the trade, especially when I saw the name “Finnegan”, whom I also like alot. I agree on the Walker and that the two closers was overkill.
But, hopefully, your real life tests went well.